Boko Ki
by KirasDarkLight
Summary: A story of three Soul Reapers. The first is one who desperately wants to improve and prove himself. The second makes a strategic move, like another, becoming separated from her friends. And the third has his soul shared with one that is not wanted.
1. Goodbye

**A story of three Soul Reapers. The first is one who desperately wants to improve and prove himself. The second makes a strategic move, like another, becoming separated from her friends. And the third has his soul shared with one that is not wanted. Three who started their journey in the Rukongai.**

"Come on! Please give me the last of my share to play some shogi." Kairi Unabara, silver-blue hair, loves to play Japanese chess, and loves to swim.

"No. You never win any of the prizes and besides, you don't want to go hungry. Do you?" Yoh Midori, the eldest of the three, calm and maintains their money.

"You're so mean Yoh!"

"Kairi can have my share. After all it's only you and her that need to eat." Suzaku Ochi, short, shy, and the only one of the three without much spiritual pressure.

Yoh sighed, "Just because you don't need to eat doesn't give you a reason not to. We'll be spending the rest of my pay on food for all three of us." Kairi looked mutinously at Yoh and ran ahead to their home. "Suzaku I've been thinking."

"Yes what is it?"

"We should go see Momo tomorrow. After all we want to see Momo off to the Academy on her first day, don't we? Maybe even say hello to 'Shiro-chan.'" He smiled and walked ahead. Suzaku stopped. None of them had seen Momo since she had applied for the Academy. They had at last received news that she had been accepted. Toshiro, Momo's close friend, was the same age as Suzaku but had noticeably more spiritual energy then Kairi. But not as much as Yoh. Toshiro had never been very pleasant towards any of them. Yoh may have looked young but was older by at least ten years and was vastly more mature. As the walked into the entrance way Yoh stopped.

"I think I'll sleep outside tonight." He had a faraway look on his face. Their house had originally belonged to Yoh and his parents, but they had been killed by a rare Hollow attack. So when Kairi and Suzaku showed up Yoh gladly let them stay. The sunset gave off vivid red and orange colour.

"Okay then. I'll see you tomorrow Yoh." Kairi was already asleep on the floor. Suzaku stepped inside and was soon asleep as well. Yoh climbed his favorite tree to watch the sun set. Slowly his eyes began to close. But was rudely awakened in the morning,

"Hurry up we're going to miss her! She only has a few hours before she has to leave and you're walking way to slow, Yoh!" But as they were almost there he saw no point in speeding up. Toshiro's grandmother was at the front waiting for them.

"They went down to the river a short while ago, my grandson was complaining about the heat. So they'll be there until Momo has to change into her uniform."

"Okay, let's hurry up and get there." Kairi and Suzaku ran out of the entrance way down to the river just across the path.

"What can you expect from someone with such an icy personality," Yoh looked over and could see the spiky white hair from where he was standing. "Hey you guys wait for me!" Momo was standing in the water try to convince Toshiro to come in.

"No way! You'll just complain when I freeze the water anyway."

"Oh come on 'Lil Shiro. It's my last day here, I promise I won't... Oh, hey you guys!" Suzaku and Kairi were running full speed towards the river. "Hey wait stop you two!" But unfortunately Suzaku tripped, slammed into Kairi, and both went rolling down the hill. SMASH! "Uhhhnnn, are you okay?" Kairi jumped up.

"I'm just fine!" She run dazedly to a slope above the river and jumped off. Suzaku still out of it, had slammed right into Toshiro.

"Suzaku, get off. Of. Me." Momo lifted Suzaku up and put him down on the bank. "Thanks Momo... and don't call me 'Lil Shiro!" She smiled, jumped back in the river and swam out to were Kairi was floating.

"Hey Toshiro, how's it going?" Yoh walked calmly up behind Toshiro and patted his head. Twitch.

"Don't do that!" He quickly darted behind Yoh and pushed him in the river. Yoh freaked out.

"Hey, what was that for? You know I hate water. Come on if I had gone any deeper I could have..." But he got no further.

"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Everyone was laughing at him. Then again his normally well kept hair was plastered to his face which gave him the appearance of a monkey. "Ha ha ha!" It was rather funny. They spent the rest of the morning swimming, fishing (as Yoh would often do), and the eating breakfast Toshiro's grandma had made for them. All too soon Momo had to leave.

"Alright I'll see you guys later then. You too 'Lil Shiro."

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that, Momo?"

"I'll call you your real name when you go to the same school as me! I'll be living in the dorms from now on, but I'll visit on my vacations." And she ran off, her friends waving goodbye.

Toshiro replied, " Don't hurry back Momo, you bed wetter!"


	2. Meeting Her

Suzaku blinked as sunlight steamed down onto his face. Sitting up he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, blinked several times, and looked around. Yoh and Kairi had left early that morning to apply for the entrance exams to the Shinigami Academy. Sighing he got up and walk towards the entrance way of the house. He sat down on the ground and stared up at the sky wondering if he would ever have enough spirit energy to join the 13 Court Guard Squads. A face suddenly popped up right in front of him.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" He fell over backwards and stared up at the sky until the face came into view again, "Oh, it's you Toshiro. What are you doing here?"

"I'm going into the market and my grandmother insisted that I have someone go with me." Toshiro looked rather disappointed that he had to have Suzaku tag along.

"Well then, I'll try not to get in your way." Toshiro helped Suzaku up and they headed down to the market. On the way there they had to pass by one of the gates that lead to the Seireitei.

"Huh, Jidanbo is hiding behind the gate today." Suzaku cocked his head questioningly, "He's a guard to one of the entrances that leads to the Seireitei. I talk with him on occasion."

"Oh..."

They continued to walk and the buildings got more and more crowded together. As it was lunch time people were bustling about all buying this and that, or something else they needed. Suzaku hesitated before following Toshiro into the mass, as this was his first time to the market. Sticking so closely they looked inseparable, Suzaku feared losing his friend in the crowd. Luckily both of them were small enough to fit in between people which gave them the ability to move around very quickly.  
Ahead there was a huge commotion, everyone was standing to the sides of the streets as if to make room for someone. There, standing at a stall looking at the selection was a Shinigami. Seeing a Shinigami in the Rukongai was rare, even if this was the wealthiest area. She was carrying her zanpakuto across her back, horizontally just above her waste. She also had a type of pink sash tide in a rough manner around her neck that made her look rather funny. Suzaku could see that most of the people that had stopped to stare at her were men. The reason for this was she had a very large chest. Toshiro ignored the clump of people and continued on to the stall where a variety of spices, rices and fish were sold. After making his purchase he waved at Suzaku to indicate that he needed help carrying the food. Suzaku began to run towards Toshiro but someone stepped out in front of him and he ran full smack into him.

"Hey! Watch it kid!"

"What is it Kunio?"

"This little brat just ran into me!"

"Oh! I'm very sorry," Suzaku tried to quickly apologize, "I didn't see you." But the two men were not about to let him off that lightly.

"I bet you were going to try and steal my money, you little thief!" WHAM! Kunio kicked Suzaku in his side. "He he he, that's what you get you little punk."

"You had better apologize," Kunio and his friend turned around to see Toshiro supporting Suzaku.

"Huh? What did you say, brat." Kunio sneered, took up a stance and clenched both fists.

"I said you better apologize, before something happens." Ice began to form at Toshiro's feet, the strange thing was Toshiro didn't seem to notice. He sat Suzaku on the ground and looked mockingly at both of them, "You wouldn't want any thing to happen, would you?" That was a little much.

"Why you little ass!" Kunio ran at Toshiro full speed, but before he got more then half way he was stopped in his tracks. The Shinigami had punched him full in the stomach.

"You shouldn't treat children like that," she turned to face Toshiro and Suzaku, "and you shouldn't provoke people unnecessarily." Toshiro scowled at her.

"Come on Suzaku, let's go!" He turned his back sharply on the Shinigami and picked up most of the items he bought, "Are you going to help me carry this or not?" Suzaku thanked her and quickly picked up what was left. As they started off back to the house the Soul Reaper began to follow them as though she had to go that way anyway. Toshiro soon became fed up, so he set his things on the ground turned around to face her and yelled, "First of all it's not polite to follow someone if they don't know your name and secondly, if you insist on coming behind us all the way then make yourself useful and carry some of this!"

"All right, all right. Geez, no need to be so forward. My name is Matsumoto Rangiku. What's yours?"

Suzaku bowed, "Mine is Ochi Suzaku and his name is Hitsugaya Toshiro. It's very nice to meet you."

"Well, it's nice to know your names. By the way earlier when you got mad a the man in the street I could sense incredible reiatsu come from your friend, has he considered enlisting in the Shinigami Academy?" Suzaku shook his head and continued walking as if there was no point in discussing the matter further. When they reached the house Toshiro gave Rangiku a curt nod and went inside. "He seems rather uptight doesn't he, Suzaku?"

"Oh, I guess that might be because his best friend has recently been accepted to the Academy. He hardly sees her and when he does she pesters him about joining. So I'm not really surprised that he acts that way with everyone else."

"Well then I'll hopefully see you later, but that reiatsu does bother me. Do you think I could pop on by later and check on him?"

"I don't see why not, just make sure he doesn't see you. I'll see you later then!" Rangiku nodded, turned her back and walked back to the Seireitei. Suzaku waved until she was just out of sight then he himself turned around and headed back to his home. Upon arrival he noticed that candles had been lit and the smell of food wafted through the air. As he slid door the open...

"SUZAKU!!!!" Kairi came hurling out of the door, she picked him up and squeezed all the air out of him, "Guess what! We got approval to take the entrance exams to the Soul Reaper Academy. Isn't that great? Ohhh I can hardly wait!" She set Suzaku down and ran inside, "Yoh is cooking our favourite food in celebration, yours too." She sat down and bounced up and down happily. Suzaku shook his head and tripped as he stepped in side.

"You have to be more careful Suzaku, pick up your feet when you walk." Yoh had just entered with a tray full of food, "Okay Kairi here's your futomaki, Suzaku your gunkan-maki, and my hikari mono. Now before we start Suzaku I want to know, is this alright with you?"

"Huh, what do you mean?"

"Well if we are accepted then we will be living in the Seireitei from now on and you'll be here by yourself." Suzaku paused, the thought hadn't even crossed his mind.

"Yeah, it'll be fine. Besides if I get lonely I'll just go bother Toshiro," Suzaku smiled not feeling as positive as he sounded, "And you guys will visit me, so it doesn't really matter." Yoh sighed.

"All right then! Let's enjoy this last meal together." As they ate Suzaku could feel the lump in his throat growing as he realized that, unless he also applied for the Shinigami Academy, it would be likely that he would soon have no part in their lives. He held back his tears and excused himself from the meal.


	3. Kairi Meets the Fox

This was the first time Kairi had had even seen the inside of the Seireitei. And it was all she imagined. If she could she would have gone to all the shops, all the restaurants, and even the shogi house she heard was there. But unfortunately she and Yoh only had a day pass, just enough time to apply for the entrance exam and go back home. Surprised at how deserted the streets were Kairi took her time as they walked along soaking up all she could. This part of the Seireitei seemed to focus mainly on shops and the occasional restaurant. Kairi took a particular liking towards the Shogi club that she happened to spy.

"Hey! You two!" Yoh and Kairi turned around to see a man dressed in a blue and white uniform marching towards them, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, we are here to apply for the Shinigami Academy entrance exams," Yoh took the day pass out of his kimono and showed it to the man who sneered.

"Newbies huh? Well then follow me. You're lucky you know. You just happened to enter the area of the academy dorms, which is why it's so deserted right now. Myself and three others were sent to show the people who are arriving to apply to the headmaster," he smiled, "By the way, my name is Aoga." As they walked down the streets more people began to join them, most were young men. Kairi and four other girls were the only female souls present.

"It doesn't seem like there will be a lot of girls in our year, does it Yoh?"

He shrugged, "Maybe, maybe not. We'll just have to wait until we join up with the other three groups." Yoh's prediction seemed a little off, only thirteen girls had joined the other three groups. Kairi gave him a smirk, "What? I can't be right all the time can I?"

"All applying souls will line up one behind the other, girls on the right boys on the left. You will sign a form telling us your name, which district you are coming from and what, if any, nobility status you have. Lie about any of this and you will be immediately exempt from taking the exam." Kairi walked away from Yoh and stood behind a girl with short black brown hair who was staring up to the front of the line. Everyone seemed nervous, especially Yoh. Kairi had no idea as to why so she focused her attention on looking around to see who was signing up.

"Hey, is it your first time taking the exam?" The girl in front of Kairi had turned around to talk to her.

"Yes it is. What about you?" The girl shook her head,

"No, this will be my second time applying," Kairi gave a questioning look, "Oh , um... I mean last time when I took it my reiatsu wasn't strong enough, but I've been practicing!" The girl turned, embarrassed, and walked forward to sign up.

"Step forward," So Kairi did and she was greeted with a form, ink and a brush to write with, "name and the district you come from." When she was finished the representative grabbed the form out of her hands and told her to wait at the side. The boys line still had many more to sign up so when the girls were finished they boys were herded into that line as well. And then finally,

"You have now all finished signing up. Those of you who only had a pass in order to sign up will now leave! Anyone who has a day pass is welcome to stay and have a look around. A letter will be delivered to you at the end of the day so you will know if you are allowed to take the exam." And with that the representative walked away leaving less then half the people behind.

"Yoh what are we going to do now?"

"I would like to have a look around by myself for now. Just go wander around until it's time to go!" And with that he turned on his heel headed towards the school area. Kairi shrugged and headed towards the shogi club she had seen earlier. With no money she would have to settle with just watching which was just fine with her. The club was fairly busy as it was near lunch time and the Shinigami had the time off. The owner of the club greeted her warmly as she entered. One table was particularly crowded around, from the parts of conversation she caught the match about to be played looked to be a big one.

"Yeah that' right... fuku-taicho..."

"This will be his final match..."

"Such a shame... he's really good." Kairi made her way over to the table and managed to work her way to the front. One man was already sitting there with his eyes closed as if in meditation, the other seat was empty.

"Umm excuse me," Kairi asked the man next to her, "what's going on?"

"Oh, the fuku-taicho of Squad 5 will be playing the champion of this shogi club. Apparently it's because the champion had a disagreement with the fuku-taicho and because they don't want any blood shed the taicho suggested a game shogi. This will be very interesting as the fuku-taicho has never played before and he is already 10 minutes late." Kairi couldn't see how a match of shogi would settle things, but obviously if the taicho says so you don't argue. She turned her head to look out the door and saw someone walk in.

"Who's that?"

"Huh? Oh, he's here!" Kairi swallowed, the man that entered the club had the most evil grin she had ever seen. His eyes were shut, although he seemed to know where he was going, and had light purple-silver hair.

"You're late Ichimaru fuku-taicho," the man already sitting sounded impatient, "let's begin."

"Sorry sorry, but I had some important business to take care of." He sat down and they began the match. The fuku-taicho showed no enthusiasim one way or another, infact he looked bored out of his mind to be bothered with the whole idea. And almost as quickly as the game had started it was finished. The fuku-taicho had lost but it didn't seem to bother him in the least. "My my, that was a good match but I guess you were better then me. Oh well." And with that he got up and walked away.

"Hey you won!" Everyone went to congratulate the champion but he was furious,

"That bastard didn't even try! There were several times he could have beaten me, but he didn't!"

"Hey calm down, you won. Besides if you make such a fuss over winning you'll hear from Aizen taicho." This calmed him down, some what. Kairi had found the fuku-taicho very strange, she could tell that he had no interest in what his own subordinates thought or did. Not that it was any of her business. Losing interset in all the other matches that took place at the club the rest of her day became very uneventful, it was spent wandering around the streets looking through the stores and the food stands. She thought she caught sight of Yoh once but it was brief.

"Excuse me," a Shinigami ran up to her and handed her a letter, "you have been excepted to take the entrance exams to the Academy, it will start tomorrow at noon. If you are late you will have to wait until a later date to take the exam." He bowed, turned on his heel and ran in the opposite direction leaving Kairi rather stunned. A voice reached her ear,

"Hey Kairi, come on! Other wise you'll get kicked out!" It was Yoh who had appeared to materialize out of nowhere, he was waving at her to hurry up.

"Coming!" She began to run towards to him as quickley as she could so as not to get left behind, and as he turned away the fuku-taicho of Squad 5 stepped out from one of the side streets. As she ran passed him a chill crawled down her spine, this man made her feel uneasy. If she passed the exams into the Academy she hoped never to step within ten feet of him ever again.


	4. The Acceptance Exam

Yoh walked down the seemingly endless hallway along with all the other hopefuls of joining the Shinigami Academy. There were so many wanting to join that it looked as though a sea of colour roamed the hallways. At the head of the mob was a fifth year student leading them to where the entrance exam would take place, he had the air of annoyance about him which kept the front half deathly silent. Kairi was walking near the back and had struck up a conversation with a couple of other girls. They laughed and looked completely unaffected by the fact that the exams were moments away. Yoh may have looked confident, but he sure didn't feel it. The group came to a halt as they approached a huge set of doors and all the chatter stopped,

"Alright," the fifth year announced, "you will enter through these doors out on to the training grounds in groups of ten. When you are finished you will be escorted by another fifth year to the waiting room. There will be absolutely no talking until the exams are finished. The groups have been randomly selected so there is no guarantee that you will have the support of your friends, if you have any." The fifth years words were full of spite as he looked around the group, eyes picking out those he thought looked pathetic. He picked up a thick scroll off a previously placed table, "When I call your name you will come quickly and silently to the front of the group." He listed off ten names from the top of the list, neither Kairi or Yoh were called forth. Yoh looked around as the first ten lurched forward, some brimming with confidence and others not looking prepared. The doors swung open revealing a large open space filled with trees, a lake and bamboo forest. The ten shuffled forward and the doors slammed shut behind them. The minutes ticked by, scuffling could occasionally be heard on the other side of the doors. Thirty minutes had passed since the group had gone through the doors, how long was the exam going to take.

BANG!

A loud explosion could be heard coming from the grounds along with shouts of frustration an panic. The tension sky rocketed in the waiting souls, Yoh swallowed and hoped that nothing bad had happened. The shouts died down and there was a knock on the doors which could be heard by every one.

"Next group please step forward," the fifth year began to call out names none of which Yoh knew, except the last one, "Unabara Kairi." Yoh looked for her as she made her way towards the doors hoping to catch her eye wanting to give her a silent good luck. But she didn't look over her shoulder unfortunately for him. The doors again opened to let the new groups through, if you looked hard enough you could see a small dent in the ground where the loud noise had been created. This time the next group was called quickly after the last group had entered, Yoh hoped that it meant Kairi had passed. Group after group was called forward to participate. The ones that where left all thought the same thing, what if there had been some mistake and they were not supposed to be there? So every ones face flooded with relief when there name was called. Time flashed by for Yoh after hearing Kairi's name, so he jumped when, "Midori Yoh!" He jumped up ignoring the silent laughter that was aimed at him. Looking around he noticed that he was in the second to last group suddenly realizing how long he had zoned out for.

When his group stepped outside he put his hand up to cover his eyes as he had adjusted to seeing in the darkly lit hallways. There was no one there to greet them or give them instructions just ten kendo shinai leaned up against a tree.

"Hello! Is any one here?" one boy raised his hand and shouted out.

"Shut up you idiot, he said there was no talking during the exam!" Realizing he too had broken the rule he quickly raised his hands to cover his mouth. Yoh had wandered towards the shinai and began looking for some sort of written instructions. The others noticed what he was doing and hurried forward to look too, their efforts were soon rewarded. A piece of scroll had been stuffed into one of the shinai hollow blades just so you could see it sticking out at the end, it read:

'Congratulations on finding the instructions! Part one of the test is finished.  
Your next task will be to each take a shinai and practice two or three kendo moves listed below, it then listed off several moves.  
And finally when you are done practicing put the shinai back where you found it and concentrate on forming a ball of rietsu in the palm of your hand.  
You have as long as it takes to finish. When you are finished head to the North-East until you find the other set of doors, your exam will then be finished.  
Good luck! We'll be watching your every move.'

When they had finished reading everyone took up a shinai, except Yoh who began to immediately focus on creating the ball in his hand. The others starred at him thinking he must have been out of his mind do go out of order. But Yoh had practiced many times before and knew it took a lot of energy for someone so inexperienced to maintain the shape. Managing to ignore the livid looks he closed his eyes and imagined a bright orb floating in midair. In his mind he reached out to the orb and tried to grab it but every time it bounced away just out of reach. Hearing a voice nagging at the back of his mind distracted him and the orb turned black. He lunged for the orb this time successfully capturing it in his left hand and all at once he felt as through he had been hit by a lightning bolt. A voice rang out from the depths of darkness surrounding him,

"Remember how this feels and you and I shall meet again. Now open your eyes!" Yohs' eye snapped open and in his left hand floated a bright ball of energy no bigger then a baseball. He stood there mystified as to where the voice had come from, but at the moment he could care less. Starring at his rietsu that floated in front of him would never have bored Yoh as it was something he could never get enough of. The other souls shuffled in to get a good look holding their shinai defensively as if the orb might attack at any time. Sweating now Yoh relaxed and let the orb disappear in a poof of wind. He walked to where he had left his shinai and retrieved it looking at the scroll he noted which three moves he wanted to practice. Having been from the first district where everyone was rather well off Yoh already knew a bit about kendo and had taught a little to Kairi and Suzaku too. As he walked to where he thought would be a good place to practice the nine other souls starred at him in awe. But when he walked near one of them they darted out of his way, it seemed they respected him for what he did. But also feared him. As they all practiced two men rushed through their kendo and hurriedly tried to form a ball of rietsu which failed miserably. Both of them ran in different directions wanting to get away from the younger man as fast as possible.

When he had finished Yoh checked the position of the setting sun to judge where North-East would be. He headed off after twenty minutes since he had entered the training grounds leaving three people still finishing behind him. After five minutes of walking in the general direction he heard a noise behind him. Whirling around to see who or what was there he saw a dark shadowy figure leap out of one of trees that he had just passed.  
'On the scroll,' he thought, 'it said the exam would be finished when I found the other doors so they may still be testing me.'  
Continuing on forward Yoh slowed his breathing so he could focus on the world around him. Twice he thought he saw the person but when he turned his head it appeared his mind was just stressed and playing tricks on him. The sun had now set and the world was darkened. Crickets could be heard in the distance as wind blew through the trees. Ahead Yoh could hear low talking so he quickened his pace. When he swerved to avoid a huge rock jutting out of the ground a lantern and it's light penetrated the darkness, running now the lantern came swiftly into view along with the Shinigami holding it.

"Welcome." She smiled warmly and opened the smaller door. Yoh entered and a cheer went up from the souls gathered at the tables laden with food. Smelling the aroma made Yoh realize just how hungry he was.

"Hey Yoh, over here!" Kairi sat waving at him with a silly grin on her face. He joined her and the others she was sitting with. She offered him a dumpling which he accepted gratefully. Taking a moment to absorb in the smell and sound he just noticed something glaringly obvious. Only half the people that had started the exam that morning where there.

"Kairi, what happened to everybody?"

"You probably noticed on the way here that you were being followed, right?" Yoh nodded, "Well it turns out because we're from the Rukongai they had actual Shinigami follow us and try to capture us. If you were careful enough to spot your stalker they would leave you alone. I got lucky because I was traveling with someone else who got taken, but I thought she got lost at the time, so any way I got really scared once I realized she hadn't just gotten herself lost. A couple minutes later I just happened to look behind me and there was a Shinigami practically breathing down my neck. Boy you should have seen the look on his face when I turned around. Hah ha ha ha!" Yoh got up, still munching on his dumpling, and walked over to wear a Shinigami was drinking some tea while keeping an eye on the souls finished the exam.

"Excuse me," the Shinigami looked up, "what is going to happen to the souls that were 'captured'?"

"Oh them?" he chuckled, "They'll be held in a spare room over night and then be allowed to go back home in the morning, don't worry. And for now have a good time, just because your here doesn't mean you passed." This meant the results of who was passing had yet to be announced, "I've only seen twenty, at most, from the Rukongai pass the exam. And besides if you had been a noble it would have been twice as hard seeing as most nobles get some sort of training." His words left Yoh shaken and relieved, then he was glad he wasn't a noble. Sitting down again with Kairi he enjoyed the rest of the evening, laughing, telling stories, eating and even drinking a bit of saké. As he enjoyed himself he slipped into a deep slumber.

"Yoh! Wake up!" Sitting up slowly he gazed around groggily, he blinked as sun light streamed in through one of the windows, "The Shinigami that was in charge of the exams is about to read the results!" Bouncing up and down in her seat excitedly Yoh put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. A man walked into the room, he wore the basic shihakousho and had a tattoo on his left fore arm. When he spoke his vioce was filled with confidence,

"Welcome and congratulations on making it to the end of the exam. Yesterday was both mentally and physically exhausting for all of you I'm sure," his gaze swept around the room making eye contact with everyone in it. As Yoh continued to listen to the mans speech he judged by looks and the way he spoke that they were about the same age. If he made it into the same squad he hoped he would be able to speak with him,  
"Now if I call your name please come to come to the front of the room." When he started there were forty five souls seated, when he had finished only ten were left sitting, "Those of you standing please follow this shinigami here, she will show you to another room," The thirty five left the room. Yoh and Kairi, who were not among them, looked at each other in despair. They were sure that they would have passed.

"Hey what about us?"

"Yeah, you can't just not tell us what's happening!" All ten souls left began to argue. Another shinigami began to shout them down,

"Settle down we're not quite done yet, SIT DOWN!" The shouts died down immediately.

"Thank you Sentaro, now I would like to tell you that you are the ones that have passed the exam." The group of ten looked at each other excitedly, "The thirty five that left are now being escorted out back to the Rukongai. You will be expected to show up for class in three days time at the beginning of the new semester, if you do not you will have to take the exam next year. Good luck to all of you and make the youself and Academy proud to have accepted you!"


	5. Zankensoki

Three months had passed since Yoh and Kairi entered the Shinigami Academy. The ten from the Rukongai who had passed the exam were put into one group class with all nobles who had also passed. They spent those first three months in that one giant room with about six hundred souls from different noble families. This class was used to determine which students would be placed in the regular class and which would have the talent for the advanced class. Whether they were from the Rukongai or from a noble family. About fifty seven of the six hundred students made it into the advanced class, Yoh and Kairi included. They had made it along with two other young men from the Rukongai, and all four were equally looked down uponby the nobles. The rest of the six hundred were divided up into two regular classes. The advanced classes sensei was a sharply dressed female shinigami, she took no nonsense from anyone in the class.

"All right then class, my name is Kotone Takako, you will address me as Kotone sensei. I will be teaching you the history of the Soul Society and Seireitei for the next three years, at the end of your third year we will discuss dropping the class but not until then. Anyone who speaks while I am speaking will be called in after class for a punishment, anyone who does not follow the rules will be called in for punishment, and lastly anyone being rude to myself or other students will be called in for a punishment. Any questions?" One smart ass raised his hand and asked,

"Would this be before or after dinner?" The sensei picked up her chalk and casually tossed it in the air, she then caught it and violently threw it at the student hitting him square in the forehead.

"Would any one else like to make a comment?" she looked around at the class and a few souls shifted uncomfortably, "No? Good." And with that she began a long practiced speech of how each student in the advanced class would be expected to perform at a level ten times higher then those in the regular class. During this well rehearsed speech students became very comfortable in their desks, some even started to fall asleep near the very end. "And with that I now think you should all be prepared for what lies ahead for all of you. Unfortunately our time together for today is over. I now have to send you off to another one of your sensei." She lead them out of the class room down the hall to another room that was three times as big as the sitting class room had been. "Hello? Ikusa are you here?" Silence greeted the call as the class filed in through the sliding doorway.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Someone came crashing down out of the rafters yelling at the top of his lungs aimed straight at Takako. She looked up with a blank stare and swiftly side stepped out of the way. The man went head first through the floor boards. "Aha ha ha ha ha! Your still as sharp as ever Takako! I would have thought teaching what you teach your skills would have dried up long ago." She looked down at him, her eyes gleaming with anger,

"Yes well, your untimely attacks have prevented that at the very least!" She stormed out of the room muttering under her breath. Ikusa jumped out of the hole he had created and looked around at the class,

"Welcome, I am your Hakuda and Hoho sensei. Hakudais the technique of fighting with your body and Hoho are all the high speed fighting moves based on shunpo. Please ask as many questions as you like, it's the best way to learn here. Oh and before I forget, my name is Washi Ikusa. You may call me by my first name Ikusa if you choose or sensei, none of this fancy last name title stuff alright?" The class just nodded, "All right then! Today we are going to learn a basic combat move before I send you off to your next sensei. Now may I have a volunteer? Anyone will do, come on come on, don't be shy!" The class shuffled backwards nervously hoping someone else would just fall out of line. Yoh had that misfortune as the mass slid backwards Kairi pushed Yoh and he stepped forward, but not before throwing Kairi a warning glance of 'do that again and I will kill you,' "Ah here we go, what's you name?" Yoh muttered his name so it was inaudible, "Louder now, open your mouth, stick your chest out and shout your name boy! Now what's your name?"

"MIDORI YOH! Sensei!" Ikusa stuck his fingers in his ears,

"Well I did tell you to shout... Any way we have our volunteer! So Yoh have you ever fought hand to hand before?" Yoh shook his head, "Oh come on now Yoh, answer me back don't just shake your head."

"No sensei, I have not."

"Alrighty, you'll get a first hand experience now. What I am going to do is throw a simple punch at you with my left hand and I want you to dodge to the left then return to center position, got that?"

"Yes sensei, but why to the left?"

"Because Yoh, if you were to doge to the right all I would need to do is stick out my right fist and you would smack right into that. Which we want to avoid here. Are you ready?" This time Yoh nodded as he spread his feet apart and got ready to dodge, "Okay I'll start slow and as you get the hang of it we'll speed up and then start rotating hands, got that?" Yoh found the starting punches rather easy to avoid, so much in fact he could not believe Ikusa was the sensei for hakuda. But as the punches sped up they became harder and harder to dodge. He even found they began to graze his left cheek now and again. Suddenly without warning Ikusa let fly a punch straight at Yoh's head, grinning mischievously. Yoh instinctively raised his forearms side by side to block the punch taking the full force of the blow just below his wrists. He starred at his sensei wrists stinging,

"Wh- what was that for?!"

"Now you see class even though Yoh has never fought hand to hand before he did the right thing. He could have run or he could have let me hit him, which would have broken his nose if he had," Yoh glared at Ikusa and the sensei turned to face him taking on a more serious tone of voice, "You are the third person on my first demo with first years to block that punch. Others have tried and been to slow, and the rest ran away in cowardice or let me hit them," Ikusa turned around to face the rest of the class, "In battle never retreat until the order is given, and always return with the least amount of damage possible. And never, never run away. It brings shame on those who know you, your commander, and yourself. Now I want want you to get into groups of three, two will practice then stop while the third give pointers. When I tell you to switch I want each group to break up and reform, I catch anyone not including those from the Rukon or not switching when told will be called in for punishment after class!"

"What about me sensei?" Yoh wanted to know if there was anything special he got to do.

"Well if there is not enough people for even groups of three fill in there. If not then come see me I'll be in the corner on the post watching the progress." And with that he ran at lightning speed to the other side of the room and jumped up effortlessly to the top of the post. Yoh gaped slack jawed for no more than a couple seconds, but it was long enough to earn him a few laughs at his expense. Unfortunately for Yoh there was not enough people and he had to join a group. He found progress was slow to none, even though he had paired with two from lesser noble families. Each time the 'switch' command was called didn't help either, he found they were too stupid to learn quickly or they looked down at Yoh and treated him like dirt.  
"Times up! Gather in front of me. Thank you, today's lesson went rather well for your first time. Next class you will be given proper equipment to tie back your uniforms so they do not hinder you while training. I will now escort you to your next sensei please watch the step as we go out of the room." Yohhad manged to find Kairi,

"Hey Kairi, how did your practice go?"

"Mine went rather well. I did get grazed on both of my cheeks but that's because one of my partners was so fast he was really hard to avoid." She smiled and looked up at Yoh, "you've gotten taller did you know that? Your now half a head taller than me!" Now that she mentioned it he could no longer look directly into her eyes when they faced each other. He grinned, narrowed his eyes and leaned in close to Kairis' face,

"Now you have a goal to reach towards. But I don't think you'll grow any taller. And besides, beavers never get very big! He he ha ha!" He ran up to the front of the group before Kairi could respond with something more insulting. They approached a set of doors about half the size of the large doors that Yoh had walked through during his enrollment exam. Ikusa pushed them open and ran forward to greet a man standing in the middle of an open field.

"Haha ha ha! It's good to see you brother." Ikusa charged the other man, bull dosed him over, and held him in an arm lock, "I've brought you your new class as you can see. If you need someone to help you with a demonstration the young man named Yoh is good for the job." And with that he let go and disappeared, letting the shorter man fall to the ground. The man picked himself up and dusted off his shihakousho. Looking around as the class filed in he pointed in the general direction he thought the 'Yoh' might have been.

"Are you Yoh?" Yoh happened to be standing in the other direction,

"No, he's not but I am." The man signaled him with his finger to approach. When Yoh was within ten feet of the silent little man he shouted,

"Hado No. 1, Shou!" This Hado spell hit Yoh, full force, in the center of his chest sending him sailing over the ground until he hit the wall. The short man ran over quickly, "I'm so sorry my boy, I didn't expect to say it so strongly. You may go back to the group now." The man returned to the center of the field and addressed the class, "Welcome to the outside training grounds, I am your Kido sensei Washi Masaru. As many of you may have guessed my brother is Washi Ikusa. Now what you just saw is a low level Hado that you will spend our first few lessons learning. Kido is not something that can be mastered over night, it will take practice, hard work and the basic knowledge of kido theory. We will not practice kido on other students as I just did but on dummies instead. Ones who prove exceptional shall be invited to learn more advanced techniques after class in their own free time. Now please have a seat and I will begin to teach you about the basic kido theory." And like their first sensei he launched into a well practiced speech about the theory of kido.

At the end of class before escorting them to the next sensei Washi sensei pulled Yoh aside and apologized properly for sending Yoh flying against the wall, "But I should tell you catching your opponent off guard is one of the best ways to use a kido." He winked at Yoh and darted to the front of the mass. From there on Yoh dazed on through the rest of the day. They met their Zanjutsu sensei, a big burly man by the name of Takeshi Gendarou. He knew everything there was to know about sword fighting, but if you asked him about anything else he found someway to bring the topic back to zanjutsu. Dumb as a brick and explained everything by demonstration. Yoh was again picked on for the demonstration but this time he had five others join him. All they had to do was hold the shinai and follow the directions that were shouted out to them,

"Alright now all you have to do is a basic swing, you three on the left will attack first," the problem was he left his second insruction a little to late, the shinai swung down...

WHAPP! "And you three on the right don't forget to hold your shinai defensively like I showed you earlier!"

All six left with bruises.

* * *

Yoh and Kairi were wondering at the back of the tired and foot sore group, it had been a long day for all of them. The sun was setting which had dyed the horizon a bloody crimson red. As the rest of the first years headed off towards the dormitories they climbed a low hung tree and sat in one of the branches, soaking in the suns rays. The sun set it's rays over the land until it finally slid behind a hill taking the light with it.

"Hey Kairi, what do you think of the Academy?" She shrugged,

"I don't like the history sensei for one thing, she is such a bore! But all other things considered I like it well enough. Except that there is a boys and a girls dormitory." She smiled, jumped out of the tree and ran off waving, "See you bright and early for class! Good night Yoh!"

"Yeah, good night!" He watched her run into the distance and then he added quietly to himself, "My favourite part is that we're here together."


	6. A Bath With a Dog and Chicken

Yoh had stretched out underneath his favorite plant in the gardens, the gunnera manicata. Classes were over for the day and he was laying down relaxing in the shade. The sun filtered through it's broad leaves and shone brightly into one of Yohs' eyes. Rolling over he sighed and thought about how he'd been doing in class the first few days. History class was easy because all you had to do was pay attention and you would pass. Some students had first decided not to listen to what their sensei was lecturing them on and had been called in after classes were finished for the day. This had been a lesson to the entire group as the students who had been called in would not even talk about what had happened during their punishment.

Hakuda and hoho lessons were also going smoothly for Yoh. Everyone had mastered the technique of solidifying spirit particles beneath their feet so they could walk on air, everyone that is except Kairi. Ikusa had pumped up the level of the training so even the best left completely worn out. He had announced that they would soon be starting simple sparring matches as it was the easiest way to learn. But those sparring for now would only be the students at the top of the class, and even though Yoh knew he was good, he didn't stand a chance against the nobles who had training previously to joining the Academy. But strangely enough, he thought, Kairi had taken like a beaver to a lake with hakuda.  
Too bad her hoho skills were lacking. Not to mention her kido skills, she had just been one disaster after another. Misfiring and catching the sensei's shihakusho on fire, accidentally miscasting a spell where she created a temporary space lock and trapped four students inside. It had been a wise decision by the sensei to ban her from practicing kido until she fully understood the practice of controlling her reiastu. And then there was zanjutsu. Yoh could hold the shinai they used to practice with and use a few simple techniques, but other than that he was at the bottom of the class. Luckily for Kairi this was her forte and it made up for her being banned from using kido. In fact she practically ran at the top of the class with only a couple others at her level.

"Ow, ow oooowwwwww. Yoh, are you in there again?" The reason the gunnera manicata was his favourite plant was because it's underside was covered with thorns and the spot where he was laying was only accessible from two directions. One by walking underneath the plant and getting scratched by its thorns or two, walk over the plant and come in through the gap that Yoh always used. Nobody liked the idea of getting scratched by the thorns, and only Yoh knew about the other entrance way, so it could have only been that one other person that knew he liked to relax there.

"Kairi, is that you?"

"Of course it's me! Who else do you think would be crazy enough to come and get you out from here?" Yoh laughed silently at her appearance, her light blue hair was matted from getting caught in the thorns and her uniform had tears in it, "I don't get how you do it Yoh, you never get a single scratch on you from the plant. It's like it's protecting you or something."

"Well I do know how to get in and out of here with out walking through that death trap. But I suppose your right it is a little weird, but then again you love the water."

"That's only because I know how to swim, besides that not the same thing. Anyway I'm going to go take a bath and get an early sleep tonight." Yoh cocked his head,

"Why?"

"Haven't you heard our class and a second year class is going to the world of the living tomorrow to practice fight a dummy hollow. What an honour, I'm mean we're just first years. Hey and maybe we'll see Momo, she's a second year right?" Yoh nodded, "In that case we'd better get going."

"We?"

"Yes we." And she started off through the mass of thorns,

"Kairi wait I'll show you a better way out," he lead her a little way from where he had been relaxing and looked up. You could clearly see the sky through a good sized gap. He jumped up through the hole and stood over Kairi waiting for her,

"Oh yeah, right! You know I can't walk on the air yet!" And with that she angrily stormed off, you could here an occasional 'ow' from her direction. Yoh sighed and ran towards the bath house. As he approached a special barrier had been put in place so everyone who arrived from off ground was forced to the ground and so you could not see into the bath house from any distance away. The reason for this was it was a bath house and, like all baths, they were taken naked. When on the ground he entered the men's side. The bath house had been divided in to four sections using the natural hot springs that occurred there, the women student, the women shinigami, the men student and the men shinigami. The room before the bath offered buckets of water to quickly rinse off before having your bath, a cubby hole to put your uniform in so no one would steal it, and towels for you to use when drying off or walking about. In the shinigami baths the higher you ranked the bigger your cubby hole was.

Yoh went out to the hot spring after rinsing off with a towel wrapped around his waist. When he entered he found the bath empty, which was extremely rare. But considering most students were still studying by there own choice at this time it wasn't surprising. At the edge of the bath he unwrapped the towel, slide into the bath and folded the towel so it was thicker. He put it under his head and closed his eyes. It was peaceful and quiet, only the sound of flowing water could be heard. In the silence that came he was surprised to hear muffled talking,

"No? Well... can ya be sure?"

"Yes... we still do not know the location of the ..."

"Well that's to bad. But what about that... experiment ya told me about?"

"Patience... you'll learn about that tomorrow." As he strained to hear what the two men were saying next a loud bang came from the male student changing room,

"That's what I get for asking you to restore the lights. You couldn't cast a decent kido if your life depended on it!"

"Yeah well... your zanjutsu skills are still terrible compared to mine!"

"At least I have improved my skills, yours just seem to get worse by the day."

"I'll get you for that!" Feet slamming against the deck two men came sliding out of the change room, one had blonde hair that just covered his left eye, the other had flame red hair tied back in a rough pony tail. As the first ran away from the second his towel came untied and he tripped on it, the second didn't have enough time to stop and was sent head over heels into the hot spring. As the man popped up his face had now turned the same colour as his hair. Yoh could not help but laugh at this funny sight,

"Aha ha ha aha ha ha!" Both of them turned their heads and shouted,

"What's so funny?!" The second ones hair had now come untied and flopped down plastered to the side of his face,

"Haha ha, why, ha ha, you two! Hah ha ha!" They looked at each other and finally realized that the other one looked hysterical. They joined in with his laughter until their sides hurt. The blonde one stood up and sat down beside Yoh, he offered Yoh his hand in greeting,

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Kira Izuru. And his name is Abarai Renji, we're both in second year." Yoh took his hand and shook it warmly,

"Yes nice to meet you too, I'm Midori Yoh." Renji had now gotten a spare tie and had put his hair back up, now drooping sadly thanks to the water. He then went over to where they were in the spring and leaned up against the edge putting both arms up beside him taking up a lot of space.

"Yeah thanks Izuru, I can introduce myself you know. Anyway what year are you Yoh? You look like you could be in the third year." Yoh put his hand behind his head and scratched it in embarrassment,

"Really thanks, but I'm only in the first year."

"Hey are you in the advanced class?" Yoh nodded, "Then we'll be sharing a training program tomorrow, you know killing dummy hollows. They said some of the groups will be mixed first and second years, do you think we'll be partnered together?" Izuru poked Renji,

"I don't think you'll be partnered with a first year, you can barely look after yourself when we've gone in to field training so I doubt they'll pair you up with someone with half the experience. Besides you couldn't find your way out of the gardens with a map right in front of you." Renji was furious at this statement but refrained from doing anything, lest he prove his friend right. Yoh found Renji and Izuru very interesting students, they fought with each other, insulted each other, and yet it was all just a front they put on. Each of them knew the other didn't mean it at all. As they enjoyed the bath Yoh's mind wandered back to the voices he heard earlier. What had they been talking about, and why did it seem so important? Yoh's face must of had a dark look on it because,

"Hey Yoh, are you all right? Don't worry about tomorrow, I'm sure who ever you're partnered with will be just fine." Renji looked at Izuru with a funny face,

"Fine? Just fine?" Izuru shrugged and got out of the bath wrapping the towel about his waist,

"Well any way I'll see you tomorrow. I have to go help a classmate with a kido spell, I promised I'd be there." After he had walked away Renji raised his voice to a mock tone and hunched up his posture,

"'I have to go help a classmate with a kido spell,' blah blah blah. Ha ha ha! I'm sure he just couldn't stand being in the presence of two manly guys like us, eh Yoh?"

"Uh, yeah. Hey Renji have you ever heard talking from one of the other baths?"

"Ha ha ha, no. But I have heard a rumor that in some places the wall is thin enough to let sound pass through, apparently one student heard a taicho talking about what he had done this time to upset his fuku-taicho. I don't really believe all that stuff though."

"Do you know if it's possible to hear in from other baths as well?" He shrugged, "Thanks any way. Hey listen I better go to, I'm terrible at waking up early so I better go." As he quickly got out of the bath Renji shouted after him,

"We don't leave till noon tomorrow!" and then he added to himself, "What is it with everyone today, or is it just me?" Little did Renji realize that even after taking a plung in the bath a horrible stench hung around him from one of his early kido disasters.


	7. Experimental

A thick dark grey fog hovered over and around a small grove of trees. It had only one purpose: to keep those not wanted out, and to hide two men at its center. They stood waiting for their volunteer, one holding a vile full of what appeared to be living water.

"So, what or who are we waiting for?" The shorter of the two men stood a respectful distance behind the other,

"We are waiting for our hollow 'friend'." They heard two wing beats in the distance at a steady pace. When it landed, the taller man stood forward and offered the vile to the hollow.

"So tell me taicho, what exactly does this do again?" his companion asked.

"It is the subconscious of a Vasto Lorde. With the help of our friend here it will be implanted into a potential host."

"Potential? Ahh, just another experiment then." The hollow, having absorbed the sub conscience flew off into the distance, now beginning its search.

"The subconscious will grow inside the host until it is ready. It will then leave the body in a manner of its choosing. If my calculations are correct, it should be full grown by the time we leave. If not, it will be able to forcefully absorb anything it has not yet developed. In the time span from now until then the host will experience a tremendous boost in power, only because the Vasto Lorde is increasing its own strength by feeding on the reiatsu of its host. Other side effects may occur, but I'm not interested in such petty details."

"Just another way to make arrancar, eh?" The taller man nodded.

"Too bad our volunteer does not realize that the transfer will use so much life energy that it will end up dying."

"All in the name of progress. If we're lucky an Espada might be born." The two men turned their backs on the scene as the sun broke through the grey dawn covering the Soul Society.

* * *

Yoh waited impatiently with a small portion of his class outside the second year classroom. The instructors decided that since both classes were too big to go all together, they would be divided and the first and second years would be mixed together. Yoh and Kairi both had their names pulled to go with the first group sent to the practice fights. One of their teachers was delaying the second class, an elderly old man who often forgot what he was saying. The air buzzed with the anticipation for the first field training that any of them would experience. As the morning ticked away, all the students had taken to sitting in the shade to avoid the sun's intense rays. Yoh was stretching out beneath a very large and shady tree with a group of the students as it approached late afternoon. Suddenly the classroom doors burst open and the first bunch of second years strolled into the daylight. Yoh was pleased to see Renji, Izuru and Momo among them.

"Alright students, you will be taken to the smaller Senkaimon in the east used for training purposes. There you will meet your instructors for the evening."  
Yoh groaned. The second year teacher had taken so long that their group would not be back until after midnight, if they were lucky. Grabbing their borrowed asauchi and their dinner, they set off following the sensei running at a smooth pace. The sensei was kind and did not use Shunpo, as he had heard not everyone could use it. When they reached the platform, they each had to draw a small slip of paper and were instructed not to open it. Yoh had hoped to get the chance to speak with Renji and Izuru before they set out but they were shoved towards the center of the group and Yoh was left on the outside. Sighing, he looked next to him and realized Momo was looking back at him.

"Oh, hi Momo! How are you?" She walked up to him.

"I'm fine Yoh. I'm glad to see that you and Kairi made it in to the Academy so quickly." She smiled and opened her mouth to say more when,

"Everyone listen up! We are your instructors for today. I'm Shūhei Hisagi, sixth year. The little one to my left is Kanizawa and to my right is Aoga." Immediately after he finished speaking the group broke into loud whispers. Shūhei Hisagi was a legend. Yoh had heard the general rumour that floated around the campus, but was not aware of the details. Momo looked at him admiringly.

"Wow, isn't this great Yoh? We'll get the campus genius as our overseer." Kanizawa shouted over the chatter,

"Alright settle down! Now, when you arrived we had you draw a slip of paper each. There is a symbol drawn on each of them and has two matches that two others will be holding. Please look for the students that have your matching symbol and form a group." Momo and Yoh looked at their paper to find that they did not match; Momo's being a skull and Yoh's being a hell butterfly. She wandered off, and he instantly headed towards Kairi. Just as he thought, she had the exact same symbol as he did. The third member of their group was a male second year who looked like he used his sword more than his brain.

"Does everyone have their hell butterflies? Good then let's go!" Hisagi turned to the gate and gave the command, "Open." The doors to the gate slid open and a strange air came from it. Yoh stepped through the gate and into a long tunnel. Hisagi was running at the head of the group and anyone who stopped to look at the tunnels inside was trampled. Kanizawa and Aoga brought up the rear, pushing ahead those who fell behind. Ahead the exit could be seen as a pinprick white glow quickly growing in front of them. Everyone stampeded out into the open of the training ground. For many of them, this was their first time into the world of the living and all of them noticed the air smelled different compared to what they were used to.  
"All right, get into your groups. You will be moving out shortly to fight the dummy hollows already in place. Please learn the names of those in your group and then come to see one of us. We will give you location coordinates of one hollow. When your group has dispatched it, return here immediately." The name of the muscle head second year was Masaru. He didn't speak at all if he could avoid doing so.

"Do you think it's because too much talking might make his brain hurt?" Kairi asked. Yoh rolled his eyes and ignored her, focusing on sensing the dummy hollow. Before they had set out, their group had developed a strategy for defeating the dummy:

1. Yell if it finds you.  
2. Alert the others when you find it.  
3. If in any trouble at all, scream.

The hollow they were assigned to dispose of was a great lumbering beast, twice the size of Masaru but slow and dim witted just like him. Each of them had taken a position surrounding the monster and it had been decided that Marasu would attack first as he was the most durable and strongest of the group. Each of them crouched poised in their position ready to strike. When the hollow was directly in the center of the triangle Yoh waved his hand, the signal to attack. Marasu charged head long out from his hiding place, yelling at the top of his lungs, his asauchi waving over him in the wind. He brought the blade down hard, creating a gash down the side of the beast. It roared and aimed a swipe at Marasu who jumped back just in time. Kairi appeared on its other also dealing a swift blow to its arm. Both of them managed to keep the hollow in the same general spot jumping back when they needed to. Yoh, who had so far been an observer, stepped forward and raised his hand to cast a low-level kido.

"Hado number four, Byakurai!" A bolt of white lightning streaked out of his fingertips and hit the hollow at the base of its neck. The attack did little damage but enough to focus its attention elsewhere. The pause in between gave Yoh just enough time to jump forward and stab in the same place. Kairi and Marasu followed his lead by stabbing towards the same area. A hollow scream rent the air as it dissolved, vanishing.

"Whoo, that was tough. I'm glad it's over!" Kairi sheathed her sword and shook herself, "Boy can you two fight! But watch out Yoh, one day I'll be better then you!" Rolling his eyes Yoh too sheathed his katana.

The moon had risen and bathed the area in its glow. A shriek sounded in the distance and an eerie silence followed them as they walked back to the group. The air was charged with an uncomfortable energy. If something had leaped out at them, all three would have screamed like children. They were glad to leave the uneasy feeling behind when the instructors and other students came into view. The group so far was small as many were still out fighting their hollow. Twelve students had returned so far. The instructors were lounging on the ground having a good conversation eating a packed dinner; they ignored Yoh and his group when they approached. In no hurry, Yoh unpacked his dinner, enjoying the company and the stories he could hear floating around. Each student group was trying to make their battle seem the hardest and the most impressive. Kairi was no different.

"So we waited in the silence, the hollow lurched around and didn't even know we were there. And so..." She elaborated on a few bits but kept the story as real as possible. More and more groups had drifted back now they were finished the practice. Renji, Momo and Izuru's group were the last to show. Izuru looked shaken and was swiftly sheathing and unsheathing his katana.

"Stop fidgeting Izuru!" Renji punched him hard in the arm.

"Renji! You don't need to be so mean to Izuru!"

"No it's alright Momo."

"It's not alright!" The instructor Kanizawa was setting up the area to return to the Soul Society and Hisagi checked his list to make sure everyone was back.

"Now that everyone's back we are just waiting on word from Soul Society for when we can return-"

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Every head turned to look. What greeted their eyes was not pleasant. Kanizawa was skewered on the end of a huge hollow's dual claw. A shocked expression was on the face of the late sixth year student as her body was tossed through the air to land in a bloody heap. Everyone froze, hoping it was just an illusion. A hollow roar crushed what little hope there had been.

"What the hell is that _thing?_!" Aoga became enraged at the sudden departure of his friend,

"You bastard! You killed Kanizawa!"

"Aoga, no!" He did not hear the warning, he was dead almost as quickly as it had been shouted. Hisagi turn to the panic-stricken students, "Run! Get out of here!" Yoh turned and ran, not bothering to look back. The mass ran in the same direction, hoping to find a way to escape the nightmare. Screaming could be heard along with yells of pain and frustration. _'How could something like that just have sneaked up on us?'_ Lost in the fear Yoh ran into Kairi and knocked her over,

"Ah! I'm sorry," helping her up they looked around, "Damn it we lost the group! Where is Renji? Momo and Izuru too for that matter."

"I'm sure they're ahead with the rest," she tugged on his sleeve, "We should go. I can sense the disappearance of the collective reiatsu." Hope swelled inside him, could that mean the Senkaimon was open? They started towards where they thought the gate might be, unaware that a watchful pair of eyes observed them from above.

* * *

It had been observing the group for some time. An attack on the group when the students had been together, even if they were not complete Shinigami, was suicidal. Each of the students had promise to grow to high levels, it had even considered trying to attack one of the sixth years. Nevertheless, the orders were clear: Find a first year, male or female, and attack them.  
These two had been left behind by their group and had been ones looked at more closely by the hollow. The girl was a strong fighter and had potential to become even stronger with her zanjutsu skills. Whereas the boy had a more even balance of skills, which was better looked upon by the higher ups of the Soul Society. It did not have much time too chose between the two of them as they were running towards the Senkaimon. It lurched in flight as it thought of the consequences should it fail. Picking a target it charged towards the female students, claws ready to tear.

* * *

Yoh glanced over his shoulder having the uneasy feeling they were being followed. However, when he could see no one he focused on going forward. _Whoosh. _Ducking he looked up to see a hollow coming in for the attack.

"Kairi look out!" He pushed her out of the way and somersaulted after her. Drawing their swords, they stood to face the enemy. Flapping above their heads it roared and dove, lashing out as it went, nicking Kairi as it went by but not a solid hit. As it dove a third time, Yoh slashed its wing making it cry out in pain, giving Kairi a chance to bring it down to the ground. They were both about to dispatch the hollow when it lunged blindly with rage seeking a target.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kairi screamed in shock as the claws whizzed past her and buried themselves in Yoh's left side. He immediately dropped his katana and tried to pull out the claws with each attempt getting weaker. The hollow grinned with satisfaction and looked as if it were going to finish Yoh off when it gave a squawk of surprise. Losing all energy it dislodged its claws and vanished into the air. Yoh lay on his side, breathing in ragged breaths, his wound bleeding profusely. Kairi sat in silence, wide eyed until Yoh's gasping brought her back.

"Yoh? YOH!" Scrambling over to his side, she turned him over on to his back.

"K- Kairi..."

"Yes Yoh what is it?"

"Look... behind..." He closed his eyes head lolling to the side,

"Yoh! Stay with me, don't you dare die. I'll never talk to you again if you die! You idiot." Tears formed in the corners of her eyes and streamed down her cheeks. So distracted by her grief she did not sense the man walk up to her from behind.

"What happened here?" Kairi jerked out of her thoughts. He was tall with brown hair, glasses and had a commanding but calming presence.

"My friend was attacked by a hollow, a- and he isn't responding." The man frowned and stepped back after looking Yoh over. As he did Kairi thought she saw a smile flash in his eyes, but when she looked again she convinced herself it had been her imagination.

"Gin." Kairi flinched as she recognized the shorter man standing behind him. The fukutaicho pulled out a communication device and called for a medical team to their coordinates. "Is there anyone else left?" She nodded and pointed to the direction from where they had come, "Okay. Just wait here until the medics arrive, your friend will be fine." He patted her on the head and took off in with Gin in tow. Kairi starred until they disappeared. Had that really been the taicho of squad five? He did not seem like that sort of person.

"Kairi," She glanced at Yoh nervously, "Stop it, I can hear it. Make it stop, Kairi." Yoh was in worse health then she thought if he was hearing voices. She put his head in her lap and she stroked his forehead while they waited."

"Sssshhhhhhh, don't worry. We'll be home soon."


	8. Aftermath

It had been three days since Yoh had been put in the Squad Four hospital. Kairi couldn't help but wonder if he was okay. The two shinigami that had been dispatched to their location at the time had assured her that she would be informed if any serious changes in his condition occurred. He had been in bad condition when he was taken there so it could mean that she would only be notified if he got better?

_'What if they don't notify me of his death because he's already in terrible condition?' _Thoughts swirled around in her head, making her dizzy, '_Stop it. Obviously they're going to tell me only if he gets worse.'_ She hoped she was right. First class of the day was Hakuda and Hoho. Ikusa-sensei stood in front of the class, looking around proudly,

"GOOD MORNING CLASS! It is a great pleasure to announce that the first assessment of your skills will be today. It's a tournament style challenge where your opponent shall be drawn at random and you will work your way up to be one of the two finalists. If you should beat everyone you face you will be class champion until your next assessment. You should know that you'll be judged on how well you fight and not if you win or lose. Good luck to you all and-"

WHAM!!

The door to the room flew open. In the hallway was one Yoh Midori looking rather frustrated. Ikusa rushed forward to greet the missing student, "Welcome back Midori, it's good to see you!" He received a frosty stare, "Uhhh, what's wrong?" The reply was shorted tempered,

"I was told by the Squad Four member that released me I'd have to take it easy for the next little while," and then he added under his breath, "Heh, that idiot couldn't tell if someone was better even if they jumped out of bed and started doing laps around the room." Ikusa looked a little concerned but a huge smile brook onto his face despite it,

"Have a seat and watch what's going on, I'm sure you'll catch on quick. So now who would like to draw a name first?" Kairi watched Yoh walk over and into several students on his way to the back of the class where he sat down and glared towards the front of the room. She tried to catch his eye but was unsuccessful as he was intently ignoring her. '_Hmmm, I wonder if something is bothering him? Is he mad at me?'_ She got up to go speak with him when,

"Unabara! Thank you for being our first volunteer. Come up here and pick a name." Stunned that she would be in the first match fought she stumbled over and drew a name. Daichi Takahiro was a short stocky boy with a messy crop of black hair. Sadly he stood almost as tall as Kairi herself, '_Why am I so short?!'_ Ikusa raised his hand signalling them to take their positions. She bowed to him keeping her eyes on his face as he did the same. Ikusa dropped his hand, "GO!"

Disappearing from her sight, Daichi attacked from behind, swinging his leg low and knocking her face first into the hard wood floor. Recovering quickly, she whirled around to face him just in time to block a kick to the side. The blow sent them sliding back from each other but neither waited for the other to make the first move. Kairi jumped forward as Daichi kicked out and grabbed his foot, throwing him into the other wall. The reinforced walls made for a hard landing, which was obvious as he slid to the floor unconscious. "The winner of round one is Kairi Unabara! Will the next volunteer please step forward."  
As Kairi went back to her seat, she couldn't help notice that Yoh was watching her, but whether it was out of interest or jealousy, she couldn't tell.

Matches went by rather quickly, mostly because the combatants were on completely different levels. One student was strong but the other was always ten times better.

"Alright, now the only two people yet to go are Yoh Midori and Yuji Hajime. Please come forward and face your opponent!" Before Yoh entered the arena, Ikusa-sensei put his hand on Yoh's shoulder and spoke something to him. Yoh picked his hand up off his shoulder and looked at the teacher through scornful eyes.

"Yeah whatever. I'll be fine." It didn't take a genius to figure out Ikusa had told Yoh to go easy because of his injury. Taking his place in the arena, Yoh leaned lazily back on one leg after bowing to his opponent.

'_This isn't like Yoh at all,'_ thought Kairi, '_his wound must be bothering him, otherwise he wouldn't be showing so much disrespect to his match or the sensei.'_ Kairi only needed to watch the match to know she was right.

All of the class knew that Yoh had been injured on his left side and Yuji didn't waste the knowledge. He immediately aimed for Yoh just below his arm so he wouldn't worsen the injury, and had he landed a successful blow it would have sent Yoh to his knees. Just at the last second Yoh leaned to the side so the punch grazed him, his face snapped from a look of mocking to one of hatred. As Yuji began to recoil from his punch, Yoh brought his leg up in a powerful kick sending Yuji flying into the air. Kairi's eye widened as she watched what happened next. Jumping up in the air after Yuji, Yoh swung his arm and brought it down forcefully on Yuji's left ribcage.

CRUNCH! SMASH!

The sickening cracking of Yuji's ribs could be heard clearly, even before he hit the ground. Dust rose from the cracked floorboards and a long moan escaped from the form on the ground. A couple feet away Yoh landed gracefully, unfazed by what he had just done to his classmate.

"Yuji! Hey are you all right?" A friend of his picked him up and slung the limp form over his shoulders, careful not to move his ribs. "What the hell did you do that for? You had no reason to do that to him!" Yoh shook his head and held his side as if he had just realized what he had done. His face was covered in shock and sweat.

"Ikusa-sensei?"

"Hmmm?"

"I would like to be excused from the rest of the assessment."

"Alright then, go sit out in the hallway." Yoh nodded and left the room. Kairi watched him leave the room holding his side. He was followed by Yuji and his friend, who were headed off to Squad Four. Kairi made her way towards the door when Ikusa called out to her, "Hey Kairi where are you going?"

"Oh umm, I was just going to see if Yoh is alright." The sensei looked at his quickly written match up list,

"But your next match is coming right up..." He looked closer, "Oh wait, never mind. The student who took Yuji to Squad Four was your next opponent, heh heh. So since he's not here you'll just automatically move up to the next round." He waved her away with his hand, "Could I please have Ran and Tai in the arena now!" Kairi left without a backward glance.

Peeking out into the hallway not being able to immediately see him, so she stepped out and slid the door shut behind her. Silence was all that could be heard in the right corridor of the hall, so she turned left in hopes of finding him. As the hall made a sharp turn, Kairi bumped into someone sitting on the floor. At first she didn't recognize the person hunched over, head resting on his knees with his arms covering his face.

"Hey, are you okay?" Yoh looked up at her, eye's wild with fright. When he saw it was Kairi, he visibly relaxed

"No I'm not. I- I almost killed him, I terrible." His voice was strained and shaken. Kairi sat down beside Yoh and put her arm around his shoulder ignoring his flinch.

"What are you talking about? You just cracked one of his ribs, so it's not that bad." He was in complete disbelief, "Well, it's not a good thing but you were nowhere near killing him."

"That's not true! I felt… it's hard to explain. I felt enraged at being told that I wasn't allowed to go full out in my training for the next few days, and it carried over into my fight. I don't even know Yuji but I needed to take it out on someone. I- I..." He gripped his side as if remembering his attack, "I don't know what is wrong with me but I'm not myself. Please leave me alone."

"Are you sure?"

"I said go!" Yoh's eyes flared with anger and he turned his back on Kairi. Hurt, she got up and went back to the class. '_Yoh is right, he's definitely not himself. I'll give him a few days to recover maybe he'll be better by then.'_ But she knew this was wishful thinking. Knowing Yoh for as long as she had told her this was something that wouldn't get better over night.


	9. Never Again

It seemed that even though four years had passed she could not grow any taller. Years had jumped by in a flash not long after that day. Yoh had begun to ignore her and spend more time with Renji and Izuru leaving Kairi to her own devices. This, in good time, had led her to making a new friend by the name of Yuki. They were both about the same skill level so they were always competing to see who could score better on a history test or who could knock out their opponent in hakuda class the fastest (sometimes seeing if they could even beat their opponent in hakuda).

"Hey Kairi, could you help me with my kido today after classes?"

"Ha ha Yuki, you know I'm terrible at using kido."

"Oh right. But you seem to have recently picked up a habit of hiding your spiritual pressure."

"What little there is to hide."

"No, you know that's not true. The other day when I was reading I didn't sense you until you had spoken my name, and today in hakuda practice it vanished completely during a match. Don't tell me you haven't noticed?" Kairi raised her hand and scratched the back of her head in embarrassment,

"OH that? Yeah I did. In fact I read a book once about a Shinigami who could go any where he pleased because no one could sense him. It may have been an old legend but don't you think it would be neat if I could do that? It would be awesome!"

"Well I guess your right... I have to go practice, I'll see you later!" Yuki hurriedly picked up her books and ran off,

"Hey! I didn't make it up! It's under the section about…" Kairi lowered her voice not wanting anyone to really hear; "old folk tales.'sigh'... oh well." She sat down and looked up at the fluffy clouds that passed by overhead, "I wonder..." They appeared as many shapes: A cherry, a rice ball, some fancy ornate flower. As she sat there loud voices interrupted her day dream,

"You can't be serious; I just got out here sweet Nanao-chan. It's such a lovely day out why don't you have a drink with me?"

"Really! I don't think this is the time or place for such things, besides you have a mountain of paper work to do back at the office."

"Oh alright, but only if you'll have drink with me afterwards!"

"I won't make any promises." The man shrugged and wandered towards the distant Seireitei buildings staggering as he went. Kairi laughed at the antics of the two Shinigami which attracted the attention of the female, "What is so funny may I ask?"

"Oh, I'm sorry for laughing!" She bowed hurriedly in respect. The woman sighed,

"No it's alright, I'm sorry for snapping at you like that. Just because I'm in a hurry is no excuse to be rude."

"Just what I'd expect from my fukutaicho." The drunken man dissolved beside the woman,

"WAAAAAAH! Taicho what are you doing here? I sent you back to the office."

"I know, but when I saw such two lovely ladies talking I had to come back and say hello," SLAP, "Hey now, wasn't that a little unnecessary Nanao-chan?" She turned him around and push-marched him away,

"From now on you'll ask my permission to go out before and after paper work is finished, and another thing what is with that..." Kairi stood awkwardly as they faded into the distance,

"Was that a taicho? He certainly doesn't act like one." Completely dumbfounded she meandered over to the bath house and enjoyed a long peaceful soak. Once she had dried off and gotten back into her uniform she made her way over to the dorms when a commotion stopped her progress.

"Let's hear it for the soon to be graduates of the sixth year class! Hip hip,"

"Hooray!"

"Hip hip,"

"Hooray!"

"Hip hip,"

"HOORAY!!!!"

"We are going to have the party of the year, and maybe we'll even break into the saké!" The group was made of mostly sixth years with, Kairi guessed, a few invited students from other years. They were obviously celebrating the graduation of a few of the sixth year students who were surrounded by others, wanting to give their congratulations, blocking them from her view. Sadly the fastest way to the dorms was straight ahead so she had no choice but to push her way through the crowd. Bumped and jostled as she went, the noise reached a dull roar. Realizing sleep would not come easily, she sought out a place to sit and observe the festivities. Many students were now pulling away from the ten students in the centre to grab food while the pickings were good. Kairi scanned over them individually not recognizing anyone in particular until she saw Momo standing with three boys who had their back to Kairi.

"Momo! It's me Kairi! Are you graduating?"

"Oh Kairi, it's been awhile! How are you?"

"I'm great!"

"That's good to hear. And yes, I am one of the students graduating in three days."

"Three days, huh? Not a lot of time to pack up your things, but still." Two of the boys had turned to face Kairi; the third seemed to be ignoring her.

"Oh Momo is this the girl you told us about?" The blonde boy offered his hand, "My name is Kira Izuru and my friend is Abarai Renji. It's good to finally meet you." Renji shoved his way in front.

"Yeah, we've heard a fair bit about you from Momo when she told us about the time she lived in the Rukon district. Oh say, your not the Kairi that Yoh was talking about either are you?" '_Yoh!? Is he here?'_ Renji tapped the boy standing beside him, "Hey quit being so rude. It's your friend Kairi!" As he turned around, Kairi weakened. This was the first time she had seen him in four years.

"Hey." There was something different about him. Maybe it was the fact that he had grown again, or that he looked older. No. It was the fact he no longer wore that carefree look on his face. Sure he looked happy, but she could see there was four years worth of anger and sadness in his eyes. "Hello in there. Soul Society to Kairi."

"Oh oh oh, I'm sorry. It's good to see you Yoh, uh..." He turned to his friends,

"Do you mind if I talk to her by myself for a minute?"

"Yeah, sure go ahead. We'll be right here. And don't come back without a date!"

"RENJI!!"

"What? You know I'm only kidding Momo."

"Ha ha ha. Thanks I'll be right back." Yoh ushered Kairi of into the shadow of a building. Out of earshot and prying eyes. Almost immediately his face hardened, "What are you doing here?"

"I was on my back to the dorms and-"

"That's not what I mean. I mean, why are you near me?" His words stung her. What did he mean 'why are you near me'?

"I don't understand..."

"Ever since that day four years ago... ever since that day any time I'm near you I can't think properly. I always feel angry or sad. I have not been truly happy in four years. And every time I saw you it just became worse. I can't be near you." Malice had begun to creep into his voice.

"Did Squad Four ever figure out-"

"NO! No. They said it was shock and I'd never be the same, but they never said it would be like this." He placed a hand gently on her shoulder despite his mounting anger, "In three days we will be worlds apart and we may never see each other again. I wish I could tell you that I want you to do well but I wouldn't mean it if I did. So if we meet again I hope it is in better conditions." Kairi removed his hand from her shoulder.

"Yes, I hope so too. But when we do, don't expect a response from me!" Angrily she turned and stormed off. He had not spoken to her in four years. To speak now only to find that he had been avoiding her was too much. They had been best of friends but that day had ruined it forever.

'_What ever you do from now on Yoh, is up to you. If you ask for my help, that's too bad. I'm never speaking to you again!'_


	10. A Greeting and Meeting

For the first time in four years, he could say that he was truly happy. Graduating not three days ago, Yoh had received his asauchi and was to be assigned to a squad today. Shortly after receiving his zanpakuto Yoh felt different, it was as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Now he could smile again and say he felt truly happy.  
Walking down a long outdoor corridor had never been terrifying, but now he found his legs shaking in anticipation. He quickly and quietly followed the squad member in front of him until they reached a side door,

"You will wait here until one of our commanding officers comes by to officially except you." The door slid back into place without a sound and Yoh was left to wait. Standing nervously, he adjusted his reversed shihakusho. After having received it he noticed that it tied in the opposite direction of all the other Shinigami's shihakusho.  
As if he was always at a funeral.  
This didn't bother Yoh because it made him feel different, even special, because his was the only one like it. Luck would surely be on his side if no one looked long enough to notice it.  
Several people shuffled noisily by but did not open the door. Yoh began to wonder if had been taken to the wrong squad barracks until,

"WHAT?! Why didn't you inform me sooner?" Yoh heard thumping footsteps approach the room where he was waiting.  
WHACK!  
"Sorry to make you wait! I'm fukutaicho Shiba Kaien. Pleased to meet you!" Yoh widened his eyes then remembering his manners he bowed,

"I'm Midori Yoh, pleased to meet you sir!"

"At ease Yoh. So you've been sent to Squad Thirteen to fulfil your contract with the Thirteen Court Guards Squads." _Contract? You make it sound like I'm obligated to do this,_ "It's good to have you on board. Our taicho is in poor health at the moment so if you have any problems, don't be afraid to come and see me. When he's feeling better you should get the chance to meet our taicho. If he isn't flooded with paper work the moment he wakes up that is, aha ha ha!" Smiling Kaien looked closely at Yoh's face, "Say, do I know you from somewhere?"

"You were my Academy entrance examiner over five years ago."

"Right, that's where I've seen your face before! As you can see I'm much too busy to be doing something like that now." Kaien pulled out several documents regarding Yoh's work ethics, his different classes and graduation information. "It says here you skipped ahead a year and graduated with a recommendation. Unfortunately your graduation score is not high enough to be a seated officer upon entry into the squad," he put the sheets away, "But that doesn't matter. If you apply yourself diligently to your duties and to the squad, you may find yourself sharing a seat rather quickly. Effort is not overlooked in this squad." Kaien lowered his voice so Yoh could not hear him, "_But if you manage to gain Shikai, no doubt other advancements would open up_."

"I'm sorry sir, what did you say?"

"Mmm, oh! It doesn't matter," Kaien laughed, "Listen, I have to go now so Sentaro will show you around. SENTARO!" Kaien pulled back the door and a man, who had obviously been eavesdropping, stumbled in through the doorway.

"Yes fukutaicho!" He turned to face Yoh as Kaien left, "I am third seat Kotsubaki Sentaro and I will be giving you a tour of the barracks! Follow me!" Yoh winced every time Sentaro shouted. "Over there is the squad sleeping quarters, to your left is the mess hall, and in the back there are our training grounds! Finally to your right are the taicho and fukutaicho's quarters. You will find that the rest of the grounds are mostly open fields and forests with a few buildings used for different things. Our taicho likes the grounds as they were naturally found, so from time to time you might be assigned a job that has to do with the upkeep of some of the plants." They stopped beside a small pond, "I have to go now. You may have the rest of the day off to orientate yourself with everyone and your surroundings, but tomorrow be ready to work."

He bowed as Sentaro ran off, "Yes sir!" Relaxing, he looked around, finding the view very beautiful. "Now what will I do? Hmmmmm..." He began to walk along the edge of the pond. It was small and had numerous cat tails growing in the shallows. Across the opposite bank was heavily covered by over grown trees and weeds.  
_He he. That must be one of the not so well kept areas._  
He discovered further along the bank a large _gunnera manicata_ growing in full glory. He was glad that there was a familiar plant growing here, as no others he had seen could be found in the Rukon District or in the Seireitei gardens. Perhaps some of them had come from the human world. Deciding to come back later that evening, he walked over to the sleeping quarters hoping to find an open bed.

The room was mostly empty save the lazy few who had decided to sleep in that day. A small group of men and older boys were sitting in a corner playing an unfamiliar game. The game must have been very entertaining because Yoh stood watching them for several minutes until a man facing the door way looked up,

"Hey hey, lookie here! You must be the new member of our squad?" Yoh nodded and bowed.

"Yes I am. Pleased to meet you." The man got up and staggered, he had obviously been drinking.

"Well what are you doing here? There's nowhere for you to sleep here. Now go away!" The others sitting at the table laughed at the man as he tried to sit down again. Yoh stood there, not sure as to whether he was serious or not. After a few minutes had passed one of the men noticed Yoh still standing in the entranceway.

"What're you lookin' at? We told you to get lost!" Getting up swiftly he backed Yoh out of the room and onto the walkway. He raised his fist and was about to punch Yoh when a strong hand intercepted the blow.

"What are you doing, Goro?" The man's eyes widened.

"Nothing eighteenth seat Hotaka." Goro pulled his wrist out from Hotaka's firm grip. Hotaka smiled.

"Good. Why don't you go finish your game?" He turned to Yoh, "I'm sorry about that. Goro and his group always cause trouble for newcomers. I think they believe it's up to them to see if you belong in Squad Thirteen or not. They're actually a nice bunch apart from that. Now, why don't you take the place closest to the wall there? It's been vacant for a while now. If you have any personal belongings, don't be afraid to leave it here. If anything goes missing just report it to me." He bowed and Yoh returned the greeting, "I'm Isao Hotaka. Eighteenth seat first position of Squad Thirteen."

"Midori Yoh, sir."

"Good to meet you. I'm sure you're fed up with all the introductions by now but it's procedure. Before I go, I'll lay out some guidelines. First, you are not to be late for any assignment. Second, you should not be in here unless you have free time or you have been dismissed. Third, Zanpakuto are only to be carried around the barracks. If you are leaving the area, please leave it here. High-ranking officers are the only ones allowed to carry their zanpakuto outside of the barracks. If you have any questions don't be afraid to come and ask me." Without another word, he turned and left Yoh to his own devices.

"Everyone seems to come and go very quickly around here." He left his zanpakuto beside his bed and made his way over to the Squad Thirteen mess hall. Dinner was, as Yoh expected, not anything special. Some onigiri, dried fish and the choice of water or a sweet drink. For the next little while, he would have to get used to the dullness of eating a very similar menu, as his current rank did not pay him enough to dine out. As he followed the walkway back towards the sleeping quarters several voices could be heard from inside,

"Yeah... it looks so… weird."

"It belongs to the new guy, doesn't it?"

"I think so..." Yoh walked in to find the group that had been there earlier holding his zanpakuto. Their mouths gaping at his arrival they quickly set it down behind them and grinned sheepishly.

"What are you doing with my zanpakuto?" Yoh cried angrily. A younger member of the group began to speak up.

"Well you see, Goro liked the diamond shaped guard on your zanpakuto better than his circle shaped one so-" WHACK!

"Shut up!" Pushing his group to the back of the room, Goro lay down and pointedly put his back to Yoh. Yoh, silently fuming, grabbed his katana and stormed off into the night. As he strode towards the pond, the night watchmen began to light the lanterns. Upon reaching the water, he sat down beneath the _gunnera manicata_ and set his sword beside him. He looked at it and he could understand why they were so fascinated with it. The guard was not flat but instead formed a 3-D diamond shape around the hilt having two longer points at the front and back of the sword.

"You haven't even been with me one day and you're already causing me trouble!" He waited for a response but it did not come. "Heh... Right, like you can talk." Lying on his side, Yoh rested his head on his hand. Watching the lantern light flicker in the distance and dance on the pond's surface he relaxed, ignoring his annoyance towards his zanpakuto. As he lay there watching the scene, his eyes grew heavy and began to close. Sprawling out on his back he planned to rest for only a moment, but found he was soon fast asleep.

* * *

"_Yoh_."  
Ignoring the voice, he turned over in his sleep.  
"_Yoh... Yoh, wake up_."  
Sitting up took quite a bit of effort, and when he finally managed to lift himself, he kept his eyes closed. He tried to concentrate on the voice and where it was coming from, but it came from every direction. Each time it called, he was surrounded and filled by a deep warm voice. "_Yoh. Open your eyes_." As he did, the sight of the pond and the plants that he was expecting did not greet him. Instead, a vast forest spread before him, as far and as wide as he could see. Standing, he took a few steps towards the trees near the edge, wary of what might be near. Upon reaching the trees he reached out with his hand. Hesitating for only a moment, he reached out and touched the bark. Upon doing so, a dense fog slowly engulfed the area, cutting off visibility. "_Do not be afraid, Yoh, I will not hurt you_."

"Who's there?" Yoh whirled around trying to see the owner of the voice, it sounded near. "Where are you?"

"I _am everywhere Yoh. Part of what you see, feel, hear and even smell. I would even say I am a part of you_." Palms sweaty, he backed up against a tree.

"Huh. I don't think so. If you were, you'd show yourself." The voice sighed in disappointment.

"_Ah Yoh, I already have_." The world around him also seemed to sigh as it slowly dissolved away. The trees, all except the one he was leaning against, evaporated along with the ground, leaving him standing on the roots of his tree. The roots that supported him shifted and Yoh lost his balance. Reaching up as he fell, Yoh managed to grab a root.  
"_Yoh, you are not ready yet. We will meet again when you are_." The roots shook him lose and he fell down through the darkness, only to snap awake to the morning daylight. He raised a hand to his face, blocking out the bright light.

"What was that?" Turning his head so he could see his zanpakuto, he reached out and raised it over head. _Na, it couldn't be._


	11. A Double Loss

"All right men, today we will be going out on a battle mission." Kaien stood in front of Yoh and several other Shinigami, "A group of hollows have been causing a disturbance in the Southern Rukon District. We've been ordered to eliminate the enemy by sun down." He leaned in close and narrowed his eyes, "I don't think that will be a problem, do you?" Everyone shook their heads. "Good. Let's go!" Yoh followed just behind as they ran towards the gate. Upon reaching Red Hollow Gate Kaien hailed to it's keeper, "Hello Higonyudo. Would you mind opening the gate for us, we've come to take care of the hollows." A shadow fell over the group.

WHAM... THUD!

Dust rose from the air as the gatekeeper rose from his kneeling position.

"Well well, if it isn't the Fukutaicho of Squad Thirteen himself. It's about time you arrived. I'd be glad to seeing as they have been banging at my gate for some time now." Turning his back, he positioned himself and began to lift the gate.

"Get ready men, hollows will swarm towards us as soon as the opening is big enough. Defenders you stay behind and take care of hollows who try to sneak in, advance team you're with me. Eliminate any hollow that gets in your way!" Yoh and a new girl beside him drew their zanpakuto. He was nervous but the girl looked ready to collapse. This would be her first mission and she looked the same way Yoh had felt on his.

"Hey don't worry. It'll be fine." She smiled at him.

"Thank you. I'm sorry but, what was your name again?"

"Oh! It's Yoh, Midori Yoh. But you can call me Yoh, Kuchiki-san." The girl frowned.

"Please, just call me Rukia."

BANG!

The gate now fully open, Yoh and Rukia charged forward. Hollows swooped down from above, hoping to catch any of the Shinigami off-guard. As the hollows swarmed them, Yoh found himself fighting with his back to Rukia. Guarding each others backs, every hollow that approached them quickly came to its end. The quick slashing noise of blades could be heard followed by the death screech of hollows. The enemy numbers soon began to dwindle and many of the advance squad had no opponent to fight. As they gathered in a small group on the ground, their attention was drawn to Kaien who was still fighting a rather slow moving hollow shaped like a lizard. He did not seem to be having any trouble, in fact it looked like the hollow was having trouble just keeping up with Kaien.

"Yeah! Get that hollow fukutaicho!"

"Split it right down the middle!"

Encouraged by the shouts from below, Kaien could not help but show off a little, easily dodging out of harm's way at every claw swing or tail swipe. Then with effortless ease he brought his zanpakuto down squarely on the mask, cleaving his enemy in two.

"Well done fukutaicho!" The congratulator's voice then changed to sarcasm, "Such ease, such grace. Can we ever hope to measure up to someone amazing like you?" She waved her hands exaggeratedly.

"Oh be quiet Kiyone. I'm sure any one of you could have the same thing." A woman parted the crowd as she went around checking for any injuries that might have occurred, luckily none were to be found. After doing her rounds she calmly approached the fukutaicho.

"You could have been hurt showing off like that." Her words made Kaien flinch.

"You worry too much Miyako. It would take a much stronger hollow than that one to finish me off, ha ha ha!" His wife smiled mischievously and grabbed his ear,

"Still, we want to be sure that you weren't hurt. Now come here and let me examine you." Kaien was dragged off kicking and screaming as he was mercilessly pulled back to the Squad Thirteen barracks. "Oh stop your complaining, a big man like you shouldn't have anything to whine about." All of Kaien's squad members laughed as they followed in tow behind the shouts and screams of pain. Yoh walked beside Rukia at the back of the group.

"Ha ha ha, poor Kaien. But that's one thing I really admire about him, he takes it all in and never loses his sense of humour."

"Yes he is a very unique person isn't he." Walking in silence for no more than what seemed like an eternity, Yoh's questions finally rose to the surface. He turned to face Rukia,

"What is it like being a noble? Do you get special food? What are the futons like? How big is the Kuchiki Manor? What does..." Rukia could do nothing but blink under the onslaught of questions. She waited until Yoh could no longer think of anything to ask, "Well?"

"Yes it is very nice, I suppose."

"What do you mean you suppose? I think it would be awesome, servants at your beck and call. And food when ever you want it." Rukia shook her head.

"That may be true but there is a lot of pomp and circumstance that comes with it."

"That may be so, but I think it would be worth it." She shrugged and continued walking. Yoh was rather put out by her lack of interest. It didn't really bother him though. What would someone like her want with a nobody like him? Ever since she had joined the squad, Rukia was held in rather high esteem. Everyone respected her, though not everyone liked her. Some would be glad to see her transferred because when she had arrived, one or two people that had been working on small promotions had been shoved aside. No one blamed the taicho or fukutaicho for this, it was just the way things were.

_Speaking of the taicho, _Yoh thought,_ I haven't seen him since I joined the squad. I know he's sick, but just how bad can it be? _Arriving back at the Squad Thirteen Barracks, he saw that a small group had begun to appear around the pond's edge. Yoh's curiosity got the better of him and he wandered over to see what the commotion was about.

At first it was hard to tell just who or what was at the centre of the crowd. Trying not to shove anyone, Yoh made his way forward.

"Ha ha ha! I decide to take a little walk and just look what happens, I get mobbed."

"Excuse me, excuse me! Could you move out of the way?" Kaien pushed his way through the mass of Squad Thirteen. Nearly everyone seemed to be there. "Ah, Ukitake Taicho. It's good to see you up and about."

_So he is our Taicho, _Yoh thought_._

"Kaien it is good to see that the squad is still in one piece." Kaien smiled and laughed,

"See, I told you not to worry!" The white haired man nodded,

"I never said I would. Now, you mentioned earlier that we had several new recruits since I had gone on a resting period."

"Ah, yes! I can have them assemble outside on the common in say, the next ten minutes?" Ukitake nodded and Kaien raised his voice, "Any one who has joined Squad Thirteen in the past seven months please go to the common area. Everyone else, get back to your posts!"

The common was the large grassy area outside of the Squad Thirteen barracks. You would often find Shinigami here when they had nothing to do. Yoh gathered on the common with roughly seventy other Shinigami. Ukitake-taicho appeared in front of them much quicker than Yoh had expected him to. The taicho's gaze swept over the newest members of his squad.

"It's good to see so many new faces in our squad. I hope everyone has had a pleasant experience in Squad Thirteen so far. If you have any questions or complaints, don't be afraid to come and speak with me." Ukitake put his hand behind his head and smiled, "I'm not as aloof as you think I might be, so please don't hesitate! Now if you'll excuse me I have work to get back to. Please do your best and I know you'll make the squad proud!" Waving goodbye, he turned and walked off towards the squad head office.

Now that Ukitake-taicho was back, everything seemed to run just that much smoother. Missions were now always completed on schedule, and sometimes a bit ahead of time. Many of the Shinigami that had been with the squad for quit a few years found it easier to relax and as a result were somewhat nicer than before. Although there was a rumour that if Kaien ever reached Bankai, Ukitake would retire and hand over control of the squad to the younger man.

There were mixed feeling on this.

Some couldn't decide as to who they thought would run the squad more smoothly. The seventy that had only arrived since Kaien had been in charge thought he was a much better person for the job, considering he wasn't constantly sick. But most of the squad believed that Ukitake would continue to run the squad for many more years to come. Besides, Kaien was too inexperienced to have full run over the squad anyway.

Yoh was walking back through the south barracks gate with a group of Soul Reapers after patrolling the East Rukongai for a good portion of the day. He noticed Kaien and Rukia standing speaking with Miyako Shiba. She looked ready to head out on a mission with the nine other squad members behind her. She laughed and said goodbye to her husband. As Yoh followed his group, one of them turned back to look at him.

"Apparently there's a hollow out at the edge of North Rukongai. A couple groups have been sent out to take a look, but only one or two guys have ever come back. I'm guessing they're sending out third seat Shiba to complete the information they have about it. At least, I think that's what they're doing."

"Oh."

Later that evening, Yoh settled down to rest after the debriefing from his mission. Laying his head back, he listened to the sound of the crickets echoing through the otherwise peaceful silence.

Suddenly, a devastated yell tore through the night. Yoh bolted upright and looked around wildly. Those who had also been alerted by the cry were waking others who had been asleep and were charging out of the sleeping quarters. Quickly getting dressed Yoh jumped up and grabbed his Zanpakuto making his way to the hospital wing of the barracks.

A large crowd was being held back from the door by two higher ranking squad members. Yoh managed to get a brief look at who was in the room. It was Kaien, standing over his wife's body.

"Alright everyone, back off. There's nothing to see here." Even with their rank and authority the guards could barely hold the worried squad members back.

Ukitake-taicho came pushing through the crowd and ushering everyone outside so he could shut the doors. As he did, everyone who could leaned up against the side of the walls to hear what was being said.

"Is Miyako alright taicho?"

"I just received word from the Squad Four medics. She'll be fine after a long rest, but the men who were with her were not so lucky."

"Were they all..."

"Yes, all nine squad members were found dead." Silence could be heard for a brief moment and then.

WHACK!

The sliding door flew open and Kaien stormed out, leaving the taicho in his wake. Ukitake looked around at the men standing there gawking at what had just happened.

"I want guards posted here and at the entrance to the barracks. No one leaves without my direct permission. I doubt the hollow that attacked them will come here, but we can't be too careful." Leaving them with his orders, Ukitake went off to find Kaien. The two higher ranking officers present set up the guards. Yoh was sent as one of the guards to the entrance of the hospital wing. He shared his duty with three other men. They sat on the stairway to the wing, their Zanpaukto laying across their laps.

"Can you imagine third seat Shiba getting wounded like that? It must have been a powerful hollow to get a hit in."

"Yeah, especially considering it took out the entire re-con team..." As their conversation continued, the sliding of the door could be heard behind them. All four guards turned to look around at who had opened the door and were shocked to see Miyako standing before them. Yoh stood up and put a hand on Miyako's shoulder.

"I don't like the idea of ordering you around, third seat Shiba," he said, "but you have serious injuries and do need to rest– third seat Shiba?" He froze as Miyako raised her Zanpakuto. Catching him off guard, she left a gash down the side of Yoh's left arm. Yoh staggered down the stairs, grasping his wound. He drew his sword and pointed it at Miyako. "Third seat Shiba, are you all right?" She lifted her head to reveal a blank face, emotionless eyes staring through him. Yoh charged forward and their Zanpakuto clashed against each other, releasing sparks into the night. The other three Shinigami had also drawn their swords and were preparing to subdue their attacker; but Miyako only became berserk and lashed out wildly. Her Zanpakuto wailed through the air, knocking Yoh's blade from his hands. Miyako stabbed forward into Yoh's chest and quickly dealt vicious attacks to his companions. The shock from being stabbed caused Yoh to fall to his knees and stare forward as if in a trance. Cries could be heard out into the night as Miyako killed the other three men. Why was she doing this?

Miyako finished with the others and turned her attention back on Yoh. He was unable to defend himself for his Zanpakuto was out of reach and words for any Kido seemed to freeze in his throat. Pain lanced through his side as he was slashed down his back. Collapsing to the ground, Yoh could only look up as she towered above him.

_So that's it, _he thought, _I'm going to die here, weak and powerless._

Before the final blow could be dealt Kaien came bursting onto the scene.

"Don't do it Miyako!" She hesitated for a moment before turning and fleeing into the night. Ukitake came up behind Kaien, followed by Rukia, Kiyone and Sentaro. Yoh lay on the ground listening as Kaien with held his building rage.

"Let me go after her taicho! She attacked and killed her men! I know Miyako would never do such a thing! Let me go and bring her back!"

"No. What good would that accomplish? She is obviously possessed."

"You have to let me go taicho! That _thing_ has defiled her honour and the image that her men held of her." Ukitake sighed.

"Very well then. But I'm coming with you."

"No taicho I-"

"I don't want to hear it. Kiyone, Sentaro, I want you to see to it that these men are taken care of. Rukia, you will come with us." Without another word, the trio disappeared after Miyako. Kiyone checked the four fallen men and found one other besides Yoh alive. She had Sentaro took both Yoh and the other man back to Squad Four where they could receive proper treatment.

Upon waking to the white ceilings of Squad Four, Yoh found it funny he was back here once again for treatment. He and the other Shinigami had been given a quiet room out of the way of the normal Squad Eleven patients. He closed his eyes only to hear noise coming from outside the door. It opened to reveal a timid Squad Four member who was bringing in a small tray of bread.

"Good to see you're awake. You're very lucky those wounds didn't penetrate too deeply, or there could have been a lot more damage." He was interrupted by scuffling and loud banging coming from outside the room, "Excuse me for a moment." The Shinigami stuck his head out into the hallway. "This is a silence hallway, if you have business I suggest you take it elsewhere." The gruff voice of Sentaro could be heard outside.

"Sorry, but I have a message to deliver to the two members of my squad."

"Is it about _that_?" The Squad Four member sounded as though everyone but Yoh and the man beside him knew what was going on.

"Yes it is."

"Then I request that you leave. I'll give them the message myself."

"But that's not what–" The timid man shut the door in Sentaro's face. Turning back into the room, he smiled sadly at the two injured men.

"I apologize for what you are about to learn, but almost everyone in the Seireitei knows about it. It's best you learn now and not after you are released." Yoh craned his neck to get a better look at the Shinigami.

"Last night Shiba Kaien, fukutaicho of Squad Thirteen, was killed."


End file.
